This post was updated May 27 at 12:56 a.m.

Tim Groeling, a professor of communication, will be the 2026-2027 chair of the UCLA Academic Senate.

Senate Elections Commissioner Joseph Watson certified Groeling’s election, according to a May 21 announcement from Senate Secretary Linda Sarna. The Senate also elected members of the committee on committees – which nominates and selects the Senate’s chair and vice chair to then be approved by the Legislative Assembly – and at-large members of the Executive Board.

The Academic Senate is an association through which UCLA faculty help to operate and manage the university. The senate manages degree and enrollment requirements and advises the UCLA administration on personnel decisions.

The election was conducted via online ballot from April 15 to April 29.

Groeling will begin in the role of vice chair in September and will succeed Megan McEvoy, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics who will assume the role of senate chair. McEvoy will succeed current chair Kathleen Bawn, a professor of political science. Following his tenure as vice chair, Groeling will automatically become chair in September 2026.

In his role as vice chair, Groeling will assume McEvoy’s duties in the event of her absence and will also serve as an ex officio member of the Academic Senate’s Legislative Assembly.

Groeling taught Communication 195DB – a course open only to members of the Daily Bruin – winter quarter. He is also a former member of the ASUCLA Communications Board, which oversees UCLA Student Media, including the Daily Bruin.

Groeling has been a UCLA faculty member for 24 years and chaired the Department of Communication from 2010 to 2016. The DePauw University and UC San Diego alumnus focuses his research on political communication and new media, according to his website.